​Departing Faculty Interview – Madame Barrillon

By Camilla Norton ’25

Below, Madame Ariane Barrillon with her family. Photo courtesy of Madame Barrillon.

For the past eight years, Madame Ariane Barrillon has been a consistently positive member of the Westminster community. As a teacher, an advisor, and the overseer to the Martlet Francais, Madame Barrillon has contributed greatly to our community.
 
Although Madame Barrillon has always loved teaching and being a teacher, what drew her to Westminster was her “dream to teach French in the United States” and to share her culture as well as her love for teaching her native language. Additionally, she admired that Westminster was an independent school because it meant smaller class sizes, which would allow her to get to know students more personally and to understand and read them better.
 
While teaching here, Madame Barrillon has had many highlights and positive experiences. Specifically, she enjoyed getting to know her students in class and during advisory. Consistently having an advisory of only four members has allowed her to form close connections with her advisees. She admired being able to watch the progress and growth of so many of her students over the years and looks forward to seeing and hearing about what they have done within and soon beyond Westminster.
 
Although feeling bittersweet about departing, she is excited to “start a new adventure, discover a new place, and make new friends.” While reflecting on her Westminster career, she mentions that “30 years ago, I would never have expected to be teaching at this level, and I want to thank the support I got here. I've positively evolved so much in terms of my personal growth and teaching confidence because of the support I got from everyone, including the administration, colleagues, and students.”
 
She urges current Westminster community members to “never give up” since she never expected herself “to get to a level full of so many opportunities and so much support” that has come from her time at Westminster.